The Return of the Crazy Demon-Chapter 237: Are There No Survivors?

The closing distance felt like the dwindling time left in my life.

Maybe it was the focus, but everything slowed down. Once they closed the distance, they'd have to stab me directly with their blades—they couldn’t use their full techniques without risking their own allies.

This was a strategy that used my life as collateral.

After all, half the energy of the Heavenly Pearl was extreme yin energy. If the cold of the Moonlight Cold Heart Technique wasn’t enough, I planned to forcibly unleash that extreme yin and freeze the blood flowing from my body in every direction.

“Kill him!”

At someone’s shout, I leapt into the air at a low arc. My body’s senses predicted how many weapons would pierce me...

What came to mind was a hedgehog.

I imagined my body full of holes, then unleashed all the extreme yin energy of Hyunwol Ice Arts in one explosive spin. I deliberately clamped my palms together—sealing the most efficient outlet for force—and discharged the cold as if emitting a full-body blast of ki.

Swoooooooosh...

A refreshing wave of ki burst out so powerfully it made my hair fly. I landed once, then somersaulted back into the air to fire another wave of cold energy, then fell quietly back down.

In the sudden stillness, pale breath escaped my mouth.

“Haa.”

I paused my breath, scanning my surroundings. Everyone was frozen in place with their swords and sabers extended. Half of them had thrust their weapons forward toward my initial position; the ones further out were frozen while staring into the air.

I stood amid the frozen maze of bodies, watching the true-named Scholar at a distance.

“......”

He had been standing in the rear, and had easily deflected the waves of extreme yin with his twin palms, widening the gap between us.

But of course, he couldn’t see. He furrowed his brow and strained his ears. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

He finally spoke.

“Why is no one speaking?”

I narrowed my eyes and kept watching.

“.......”

“Seems the Haomunju used Ice Arts. But they can’t all have fallen... say something. Yi Zaha, why are you silent? Come and face me!”

Ignoring his bullshit, I checked the bodies. I reached out and tapped someone’s arm, and in response, a sharp screeech was followed by a flash of blade energy flying toward me.

Thwackthwackthwack!

The arm I touched flew off, thudding around a few times before silence returned. I had already twisted my body after spotting the incoming attack.

That flying blade had cut through several bodies—yet no screams followed. Out of curiosity, I checked the severed arm’s edge.

Frozen solid—no blood.

So the Lecher really is a bastard after all...

This meant most of them were completely frozen, unlikely to have survived.

I wandered the icy maze of this frozen hell, searching for survivors. Maybe some of those on the outskirts, shielded by corpses, had suffered less and were still resisting. I examined a few frosted corpses and muttered,

“Hey, Scholar...”

Another wave of blade energy came, but I crouched and dodged easily. Thwackthwack! More necks flew into the air and thudded to the ground.

In my crouch, I stared at a severed head that had rolled to a stop—Seven Swords, eyes open, staring into the void.

I clicked my tongue inwardly and gave him a silent farewell.

‘I was going to spare you out of old friendship... rest in peace, you pathetic bastard.’

I got annoyed and started throwing lies at the true-named Scholar.

“So, you gonna kill all your men? They were just hit by some chilly technique. Why kill them? Brutal fuck. You even killed your palanquin carriers—those guys who ran so hard for you. What did they gain by being loyal to you? You’re just another goddamn tyrant. All of you, the same.”

“Silence!”

“You treat the lives of the weak like trash—just like Qin Shi Huang or any of you self-proclaimed scholars.”

Eventually, the Scholar entered the frozen maze, following my voice.

But who knew that being blind could be this cruel? He bumped into one of his own frozen men and instinctively slashed.

Splurt!

Only then did he seem to notice how solidly frozen the body was—his face twisted in disgust.

“......!”

The corpse, standing upright, was cut diagonally and fell with a thud.

That sound startled him visibly. I observed his face and said,

“After enduring years of humiliation like King Goujian, you fall into a frozen hell like this. What did the Beggars’ Sect Leader ever do to deserve this? You wanted his martial arts that badly? If you want power, train for it. You pitiful bastards...”

The Scholar, trying to hurry forward, brushed against a frozen sword sticking out from one of his own men. It nicked his chest, and he flinched.

“Oh wow, close one. Nearly killed by your own man’s sword. Come on, run over here. If you stand around, those guys will wake up and get revenge.”

He continued forward, swinging his sword left and right. I deliberately redirected him through the frozen maze so he wouldn’t find his way out—a guided tour for the blind.

Shiiing...

I drew my wooden sword.

“Scholar, I’m ready to fight seriously now. Shall we start with names? Even if you’ve lost your sight, surely you haven’t lost your name.”

“I discarded my name long ago.”

“Ah, how tragic. I’m Yi Zaha. Used to mop floors as Jomsoi, but I never discarded my name. You, though... if only you’d stayed outside. That bloodlust of yours brought you into this frozen hell. Did you forget you’re blind?”

“Shut up.”

“What a fool. If it were me, I’d just leap up and—”

Before I could finish, the Scholar jumped into the air, and I blasted sword energy his way. He swung his sword midair and deflected.

BOOOOM!

The moment he landed, he panicked—spinning wildly and swinging at everything. # Nоvеlight # He was worried about frozen allies. Indeed, his blade knocked aside a few frozen swords.

I walked toward him and asked,

“What the hell are you doing? Hey, Scholar. Look at the pitiful state you’re in without your men to be your eyes and legs. You weren’t strong because of your own skill—it was because they carried you. Now that you’re alone, bring it.”

I finished with a smirk.

That faint sound of my lips parting would’ve struck his ears clearly.

He couldn’t know how many frozen bodies remained around him. He’d been blind long before coming here.

Suddenly, both of us turned to the right.

“Hm?”

A crack rang out—the sound of breaking ice. Annoyed, I stormed over and grabbed the arm of a not-quite-frozen guy, then sliced it off with my wooden sword.

He even screamed.

“GYAAAAH!”

Was he lucky to have survived the cold... or unlucky?

I tossed the severed arm at the Scholar and cut the still-squirming man in half with my sword.

“...If he kept screaming, it would've actually helped me. But I can’t fight by using someone else’s pain. I put him down. See, Scholar? There are still survivors. If you want to beat me, go on—kill all your men yourself. I’ll wait.”

The Scholar took deep breaths, slowly scanning around.

Then I thought:

Maybe because he trained in isolation, he lacked real-world experience. Unlike the Martial Alliance or the Demonic Cult, he faltered when faced with an unexpected crisis. His strength was intact only when his subordinates were there to assist. That’s why he had someone narrating the situation to him before.

Simply put, the true-named Scholar was nothing without his slaves.

While he hesitated, I grabbed the neck of a frozen corpse and hurled it.

His blade flashed, slicing it midair.

This time, no blood.

I picked another corpse from the outer ring and tossed it. His blade struck again—but blood sprayed, splashing all over his face.

I burst into laughter.

“What’s the big deal? Haven’t you ever been splattered with blood before, oh great Jianghu warrior?”

I watched his blood-covered face, then kicked another corpse, flung more, grabbed one by the collar and used it as a shield while charging him.

“Hey, you son of a bitch! Come at me!”

I saw through his movements and used the frozen body as a shield.

When his blade pierced the corpse, I infused it with even more Ice Arts. Then I slammed my wooden sword down with my right hand. Forced to retreat, he abandoned his weapon.

Thunk—

Suddenly, a frozen sword thrust by one of his men stabbed into his back.

As his face contorted in agony, I said:

“Wow... lucky me. I’m just that lucky.”

He flared with force, destroying the surrounding corpses.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

I laughed as I watched.

“...You crazy bastard. Keep going. Doing great. If you kneel and surrender, I was thinking of making you a slave. How’s that sound? Oh, and by the way—Seven Swords, the one who said that earlier? You killed him. His head got lopped off. Watch your step—he’s still rolling around.”

At that, he unleashed some kind of technique—going berserk, swinging wildly and shattering frozen corpses left and right. I slipped away in the chaos and watched silently.

He faced the wrong direction and screamed:

“Yi Zaha!”

“......”

Feeling the futility of life, I tried erasing my presence—like the Sect Leader had done on the bridge. It didn’t work well before, but now, with the goal of tormenting the Scholar, my presence faded naturally. Unlike the kind-hearted Sect Leader, I’d always been a bastard since before I became Jomsoi.

In any case, I confirmed it: this was the art of “letting go.”

“Scholar, let’s wrap this up. I’m a busy man.”

From a distance, I recalled the Shining Radiance and Meteor Sword I’d trained at Thousand-Mile Pavilion. I infused my wooden sword with Hyunwol Ice Arts, then added extreme yang energy.

CLANG!

A terrible shriek rang from the blade.

Like the Lady of Blood Night, I weaved through corpse remains, dodging his wild attacks, and drove my now glowing red wooden sword into his body.

He grabbed the blade with one hand and swung at my head with the other.

Even now, he was aiming for mutual destruction.

But I had already leapt into the air, timing it so that I hovered mid-run. While airborne, I grabbed his head with both hands and poured in Hundred Battle Tenfold Energy.

BZZZZZZZZT!

“GAAAAAAHHHH!”

As I landed, I gripped his twitching fish-like head and kept surging in lightning energy.

“Hey you son of a bitch... When you were chasing me with your slaves, I must’ve looked pathetic, huh? Nope. The pathetic one was you!”

The more I laughed, the more intense the lightning became. Smoke rose from his head. After unloading five full bursts of the Hundred Battle Tenfold Energy, the blind fish finally stopped flailing.

I spoke to his limp body.

“Have you transcended, Scholar? You can’t have been this weak. Maybe you were a junior-level Scholar?”

Didn’t seem like it.

Still, just to be sure, I wrapped my palm around his crown and crushed his head.

I retrieved my wooden sword and looked around.

“...Anyone still alive? Hands?”

Thud.

“Shit!”

I had forgotten the sword still stuck in his back. As he collapsed, the blade dislodged, poking out of his chest.

Even though I’d definitely killed him, seeing a subordinate’s sword protruding from his chest left a striking image.

Felt like the slaves had risen and killed their master.

I raised my right hand and asked the dead,

“Headcount. Any survivors?”

“......”

“None confirmed.”

Just then, a thunderclap rolled across the sky. I turned my head—far off, the Three Calamities were still battling. I couldn’t waste more time with the corpses.

At least the true-named Scholar had been stopped from pressing our Beggars’ Sect Leader, the greatest of Baekdo.

But then I realized—what comes next would be even more of a problem.

I left the corpses behind and headed toward the ongoing battle between the Three Calamities.